Forest - Fonte Baxa Garden

In El Chano you will discover one of the great hidden treasures of Luarca/Ḷḷuarca. These are the increasingly popular Fonte Baxa Gardens. The history of the gardens is so curious that in a few years it may become a legend like that of the Kissing Bridge.

And the fact is that these gardens were born from a great love story: that of the Marquis of San Nicolás de Noras, José Rivera y Larraya, who one day appeared in Luarca/Ḷḷuarca and fell literally and absolutely in love with the place where today trees, bushes and plants from all over the world live, some of them with incredible stories like from a fantastic fairy tale.

More than 20 hectares, extending over a spectacular valley, which absorbs the Cantabrian winds like no other, and from which you will have wonderful views of Luarca/Ḷḷḷuarca.

Thousands and thousands of azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, hydrangeas... are outlined in what is today the largest private botanical garden in Europe, and in which species that have never before developed outside their habitat grow.

As if this were not enough, the garden has pieces and antiques of great artistic value at every turn, brought from different parts of the world, mainly from Europe and Spain. Roman columns, the table where Leonardo Da Vinci dined, the door of a convent, a humble seat from rural Asturias, a figurehead, a fountain that belonged to the House of Alba and many more curiosities, will surprise you in the wonderful walk through the Fonte Baxa Gardens, of which the Valdesano José Manuel Alba, was one of the botanical masterminds who have worked this miracle of nature.